Midnight Marmot Jr.
River City Brewing Company

a slightly lower alcohol version of their classic imperial stout. i think this was done to drop the strength and allow for easier keg sales around town, lots of bars and restaurants are afraid of imperial level beers, so this was a smart move for that purpose, if in fact that is the story. its solid stout, i think just as good as the original, they really havent sacrificed much of anything, its still smooth and full bodied with just a bit of warming alcohol. it still has a deep roast character to the grain, which gives it obvious black coffee and unsweetened chocolate qualities. its still wintery and hearty, lots of body and flavor and linger, and its still balanced and professionally executed. i have not liked other breweries reducing beers in this way before, but here its real well done, and all the character of the original remains in tact. impressive! hits of molasses and raisin too, but this is never sweet. some chocolate residuals are nice, and a little yeast character in here too rounding it out. really well made beer, these guys are criminally underrated here locally. this series of stouts has been lights out, and this lower strength version allows me to have a couple of them, which is always awesome. much appreciated!